What is a polygenic risk score?

Helping you to understand your genetic results

Written by Sarah Brown Updated over a week ago

Most of the phenotypes in human bodies are not caused by single genetic variants. They are influenced by the combined effect of many genetic variants (markers) and their interaction with each other and the environment. During the last decade, large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have generated a lot of useful data on different phenotypes and traits. Our team of experts reviews the scientific validity of the data in public databases, selected peer-reviewed scientific publications and conducted meta-analyses. The variant-trait associations with no less than three replications in independent studies are selected for the analysis. We calculate polygenic risk scores (PRS) by combining effect sizes of multiple selected markers. Then we transform PRS into a single accurate and easy to understand Score. This, in turn, gives us the ability to predict the risk and extent of the phenotypes more precisely.

Our analysis scope is constantly adjusted and updated to include the newest and most reliable evidence so our recommendations will continue to be at the cutting edge of scientific knowledge.